Don't Cry for Me When It's Over
by ScreamingSatellite
Summary: AU. Hollow Victoria is a strange city. One day, when Roxas Slater falls and hits his head, it becomes an even stranger city. He encounters rich men, thieves, mysterious gangs, mistresses, and obnoxious strangers with red hair – and he thought his life was complicated before. Akuroku and maybe some Sokai.
1. Chapter I

_I_

Afternoon had already descended on Hollow Victoria when Roxas Slater left the academy. He knew what that meant and had for years: it meant the skies were dim and painted with streaks of gray clouds. It meant the streets were slick with rain and the air was heavy with humidity. He took all of it in stride as he pushed open the doors, preparing to step out of the building.

"Hey, Roxas, wait!" a voice shouted from behind him, and Roxas turned to see his brother Sora and a few of his other friends rushing up to the door. "Are you really that eager to go out in this weather?"

"Of course not," Roxas laughed. "I am just used to it by now."

He started to turn back to the door, but Sora stopped him. "Hold on just a minute. I must wait for Kairi," he informed his brother. "And you should be waiting for Naminé."

"No way," Roxas answered. "She is probably already meeting with that Riku guy."

Sora grinned. "Whatever you say."

He leaned against the door and watched the hallway behind them. Kairi approached the entrance of the building a few minutes later, her skirts swishing around her feet as she walked, with her sister Naminé at her side and two other people trailing behind them. The others were familiar to Roxas and Sora; they usually walked part of the way home with the four of them. One of them was a tall, brown-haired young man named Demyx; the other was a blonde, Larxene.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Kairi greeted them with a smile. She took up a spot at the front of the group next to Sora. "Ready to go?"

A chorus of murmurs of agreement rose from the group, and Kairi led them out into the Hollow Victoria afternoon. The stone steps in front of the academy looked shiny with the constant streams of rain, and Roxas kept his eyes on the ground as he walked toward them.

The steps were not located immediately in front of the academy's doors—they stood a short walk away, in fact, and before Roxas got there, he discovered that he had trailed behind the group more than he had intended. He had made it only halfway to the stairs, watching his feet, and they had already begun to descend them, to cross into the academy's courtyard. Roxas gripped the strap of his backpack in his fist and broke into a run in order to catch up.

"Roxas, what—?" a voice asked from the group ahead, and he looked up.

He reached the top step, and he felt his foot catch a spot of rainwater and go right out from under him. He grabbed for the railing next to him, but to no avail. He completely missed, his hand grasping at nothing, and for a few glorious seconds, he was suspended in the air, looking down at the ground but in no way touching it.

And, abruptly, gravity decided to pull him back to earth, and he fell.

_A/N: So, hey, ScreamingSatellite here! Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger... I think. This is the first time I've tried to do an AU fic like this, and I decided to set it in one of the past few centuries, so... The dialogue ended up sounding a little formal and the setting involves lots of little random historic things._

_Review if you wanna tell me what you think or if you'd like to read more; I'd appreciate it very much! :3_


	2. Chapter II

_II_

Roxas opened his eyes to see someone else standing above him, his or her face blurry and surrounded by what appeared to be a thousand candle lights. He blinked slowly, hoping his eyes would adjust.

"Roxas!" a voice chirped. The face turned away from him and announced, "He is awake!"

He sat up slowly and found that he was lying on a bed in a room he didn't recognize, surrounded by his friends. Even Demyx and Larxene still stood there, looking at least vaguely concerned.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked. "That… looked like a pretty bad fall."

Roxas blinked hard again, trying to remember—had he fallen? He remembered running to catch up with them, and sure enough, he recalled his fall next. His head throbbed as though he was reliving the fall in exact detail. It truly did hurt.

"I think… I'm okay," Roxas said anyway, shrugging. "It cannot be that bad."

"Roxas," Kairi exclaimed. "You hit your head on that stone. It _could_ be that bad."

Roxas swung his legs over the side of the bed. Now that he looked around, he saw that he had ended up in the academy's infirmary. The light came in through only the space between the curtains and from the candles on the tables beside him, but it was enough to give him a headache; the bed that he sat on felt hard; the walls were painted an institutional off-white and the paint peeled in spots. The whole room made him feel ill even though he had only hit his head.

"I feel… okay," Roxas told her. "Truly."

He stood up on his own, without even so much as stumbling, and walked toward the door. His friends all watched him, looking like they expected him to go down at any minute.

"Are you sure you do not want to stay here for a little while longer?" Kairi asked him.

"I'm sure. I will be fine, I promise," he said with a nod.

But they did not question him further, and that made Roxas quite uneasy.

Just as he was about to open the door and walk out, though, a man in a white coat emerged from behind a curtain. "I do not think so," he stated, striding directly toward Roxas. "Sit down. You are not finished here. And I do not remember allowing visitors," he added to Roxas's friends.

Larxene, Demyx, Naminé, and Kairi mumbled a rushed "Sorry" and escaped out the door at the sight of the man, but Sora stayed. "Um, sir, w-with all due respect, Doctor Vexen, he is my brother."

"I cannot allow you to stay here and disturb my patient," the man answered. "Goodbye."

Sora shot Roxas an apologetic look before he exited the room after Kairi and the others.

"Now then," the man said, sitting down on a stool on the other side of the cramped space. He was tall and thin with long blonde hair and emerald-green eyes, and he held a quill pen and a pad of paper in his hand. "You seem to have taken quite a blow to your head… Would you mind enlightening me on what happened?"

Roxas ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed at the thought of telling this complete stranger that he had tripped down the stairs. "Well," he began, "I was running to catch up with them"—he nodded toward the door to indicate his friends who had just left—"and I slipped."

The man nodded. "Understandable. The streets are quite slippery at this time of year. You must have hit the ground hard, though, allowing that it was concrete."

Roxas pressed his lips together. The side of his skull still throbbed, so he guessed the man was right, but he didn't actually remember hitting the ground.

"Roxas Slater, is it?" the man finally asked after a long pause. "Vexen." He offered his hand for Roxas to shake, and Roxas did. "Now, Roxas, if you don't mind. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three, sir," Roxas answered without hesitating.

"Good," Vexen said, lowering his hand. "Does your head still hurt, by chance?"

"Yes," Roxas told him, rubbing the back of his head again. _But I bet it is not by chance,_ he thought bitterly.

"As I expected. Please, stand up." Vexen gestured with one hand for Roxas to get up from the cot.

Roxas stood up once again. Vexen studied him for a few moments before continuing, "Do you feel at all dizzy, or lightheaded?"

"No," Roxas told him, shaking his head.

"Then, please try walking toward the door."

Roxas did as he was told, feeling a bothersome sense of déjà vu nagging at the back of his mind. He had walked to the door not a minute ago. He just wanted to get out of here.

"You still do not feel any sort of abnormality, I presume," Vexen said, bending his head and putting pen to paper.

"No," Roxas repeated. "Is that it?"

Vexen was silent. He continued to scribble things down on his pad of paper. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he looked up and addressed Roxas. "Yes, that is all. You are free to leave. However," he added as Roxas put his hand on the door handle, eager to flee, "if you feel the need to, do come back and talk to me. I would also request that you return in one week so that I can check on you. If you do not, I may require the assistance of your parents."

"I-if you insist," Roxas said. "May I go now?"

"Go ahead," Vexen told him, gesturing toward the door with one hand and going back to his pad of paper with the other. Roxas took the opportunity to flee the room and step out into the hallway.

He expected to see his group of friends waiting for him outside the door, expected to be greeted by a wave of conversation. But there was no one in the hall; it was empty and eerily silent. Roxas swallowed hard and began his walk.

He reached the door of the academy again and walked out into the muggy Hollow Victoria streets once more. This time he didn't have anyone to catch up to, so he kept his steps marked as he moved this time, being careful not to slip. His head throbbed with pain each time one of his feet met the ground.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled again and grabbed onto the railing for support. He stood with his fingers clenched around the railing for a second, the scene from not so long ago flickering in his mind.

When Roxas Slater came to, he realized he wasn't gripping the railing at all—it was someone else's arm.

"Oh—damn! Sorry!" Roxas gasped, jumping away from the figure and releasing his death-grip on his arm. "I did not, er… see you there."

"'Tis all right," the guy answered with a shrug. Roxas looked at him and did a double take. His hair was the brightest red that he had ever seen, sticking out from his head at all sorts of angles. He had slight marks of makeup on his cheekbones just below his teal eyes, something Roxas had hardly ever seen on a man like him, but it somehow made him look sexier.

"Are you okay?" the redhead asked Roxas. "You do not look so good."

"I know," Roxas mumbled under his breath. "I just—I just fell. I will be okay; I am going home."

"Is that right?" the guy answered. "Well, fine."

He turned his back and started to walk away, but something in Roxas made him call out again. "Hey, wait a minute," he said to the red-haired man's back. The man turned around and looked curiously at Roxas again.

"Do you go to this academy?" Roxas asked. "I do not think I have ever seen you here before."

The guy grinned and shook his head. "No. I do not."

"What are you doing here?" Roxas continued his interrogation. He considered that the red-haired man might have actually been looking for him, but he discounted that idea almost at once. It was more likely that he had come to wait for his girlfriend or something. "Does your girlfriend go here?" he blurted out, unable to stop himself.

The man laughed. "Girlfriend? Me? No… No, she does not."

"So… what are you doing here?" Roxas asked.

"I was just passing through when you, well, took hold of my arm," the redhead stated. "I am not here for any sort of reason, if that is what you are asking."

"Oh." Roxas squinted at him. He was not sure why this man would be loitering around one of Hollow Victoria's high schools, and yet he was not sure why he even cared in the first place.

The redhead spun completely to face Roxas. He put his hand on his hip, and Roxas followed the motion, noticing that the man had the longest legs he had ever seen on someone of his stature. Just above his hands was his waist, which looked almost inhumanly slim.

"So, if you do not mind me asking," the redhead said, interrupting Roxas's reverie, "what _is_ your name?"

"I am, ah, Roxas. Slater." He stammered his way through the sentence. "What about you?"

"Axel Devereux," the guy answered, sliding one hand into his pocket. "Nice to meet you, Roxas Slater."

"Right," Roxas said. "Right, ah. You too."

"Do _you _go to this academy, Roxas Slater?" Axel threw the question right back at him.

"Y-yes," was Roxas's response.

Axel nodded. "Well, okay then. See you around, I guess," he said.

"See you," Roxas said under his breath as Axel Devereux disappeared.

He walked home paying more attention to the ground than he ever had before.

* * *

Sora was already at their seventh-floor apartment when he got home. He and Kairi sat at the kitchen table doing schoolwork. Roxas walked in, out of breath from the long walk up the apartment stairs, and hung up his soaking-wet black cloak on the hook next to the door, announcing his presence to his brother as he entered. "Sora, I am back," he called out.

"Roxas," Sora exclaimed, standing up from his seat at the table. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. That guy—er, Vexen—let me leave." Roxas shrugged. "I feel fine."

"Well, that is good," Sora said a little uneasily, slipping back into his seat at the kitchen table. He looked between Kairi and his notes for a minute. Finally he said, "Kairi."

Kairi looked up. "What…?" she asked.

"What is the answer to this question?" he asked sheepishly, turning his book toward her.

Roxas knew that was his cue to leave. He took his backpack and crossed the hall to his room, dropping the bag outside his door and heading into the bathroom to get a towel.

As he dried off his hair and his soaking-wet clothes, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He saw with a jolt that Axel Devereux was right: he did look like hell. The color was drained from his face, and his eyes had a blank, exhausted look in them. Roxas blinked in the mirror, watching his reflection copy and wondering if this was exactly what Axel had seen.

_Whatever,_ Roxas thought, turning away. _'Tis not as though I will ever see him again anyway._

He crossed the hall to his room and spread his books and notes across his desk. The window opened up to a view of one of the lengthy streets that ran parallel to Hollow Victoria's river. That river cut a path through the entire city, and numerous bridges traversed the gap between the two halves. Roxas watched for a moment from his window as drops of rain sprinkled into the river and pedestrians ran through the storm, holding umbrellas or whatever else they could find to keep themselves dry.

Sure enough, the rain had begun to fall harder, and soon the water formed a curtain just outside, pounding the streets and the river in a relentless staccato that drove everyone inside. Roxas had watched this happen several times before, from this very window, and he knew the scene just like he knew the Hollow Victoria afternoon. Or like he _thought_ he knew, anyway.

Finally he grew tired of watching the rain outside and turned to his notes. He was just beginning to scribble some things down when the door to his room burst open and in stepped Sora.

"Holy—!" Roxas exclaimed, grabbing the edge of his desk for support. "You scared the hell out of me, Sora."

"Sorry," Sora answered, grinning. "Kairi and I were talking, and we wanted to know if you would go to dinner with us later this week."

"Ah, sure?" Roxas said. "But won't I be the third wheel?"

"Not if you let Naminé come along," Sora remarked with a smirk.

"I thought you were convinced I should date that other girl in our class, not Naminé," Roxas reminded him.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "I never said you should date Naminé in the first place, genius. Are you trying to tell me something?"

"You idiot," Roxas laughed, smacking his brother on the arm.

After a moment, Sora turned to Roxas again. "So, will you come?" he asked.

"I said I would, did I not?" Roxas returned. "Just tell me when."

He turned back to his window and saw that the rain had stopped. He thought he caught a glimpse of a flash of red hair on the street below him, but it was only the watchmen, lighting the gas lamps again after the sudden bout of rain.

* * *

_A/N: Hi again! I'm back! Thanks Muffinmilk317 for the first review; I appreciate it :D  
_

_I hope you're at least having some sort of fun reading this story... Anyway, I always want to know how I'm doing, so please review. I'd love to hear what you think. :3_


	3. Chapter III

_III_

The tall silhouette of a man stood atop the roof of a building, his shadow defined by the light of the moon. His figure was slender, his legs long but masked by the lower half of his cloak. His hood lay carelessly about his shoulders, his hair sticking out at strange angles on his head.

"Where the hell are they…" he muttered under his breath, looking down at the dimly lit streets below him. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. The other dangled down at his side, fingers coiled around a weapon that did not have a clear outline. "Ugh, this is so dull."

Minutes passed and the man did nothing but stare at the road below. He mumbled a few curses under his breath. "They are late again," he added.

He licked his lips and turned his attention to the roofs beside him. Snapping his fingers, he allowed his weapon to disappear in a flash of flame, barely more visible than a match lit in the darkness. Then he broke into a run, jumping from one rooftop to the next, his long legs taking him easily over the gaps as he moved.

Before long he noticed another cloaked figure moving along the road below him. The tall man grinned and kept up the pace.

"Devereux!" the voice from below hissed loudly.

"What is it, Bloodworth?" the man on the rooftop called, his tone not even close to a whisper, his smile infectious. Neither one of them stopped moving.

"Will you slow down?!" the man on the road below demanded.

"Oh, is that the problem?" the first man replied sarcastically. He stopped running and leaped down from the building, landing lightly on the street next to the other man. "Maybe you should show up on time."

"Honestly, Devereux. You are running on roofs again? I swear someone is going to notice you." The other man shook his head, pushing his hood away from his face. His hair was a light shade of blue and fell easily past his shoulders.

"I have to entertain myself somehow." The first man stepped into the light, revealing that his hair was bright red. He stuck a hand into the pocket of his cloak and withdrew a cigarette, which he lit and pinched between his lips.

"Right," the blue-haired man replied, rolling his eyes. "One of these days you are going to get killed entertaining yourself, Axel."

Axel took a drag from his cigarette and grinned at the blue-haired man again, letting the smoke curl from his lips. "At least I will be entertained when I die."

The second man crossed his arms. "So, have you received our assignment for tonight?" he questioned, changing the subject.

"Yeah, and the damn shadows did not care to show up on time either," Axel growled. "They were supposed to be on this street half an hour ago, but I did not see hide or hair of them."

"Shadows," the blue-haired man echoed. "Well, at the very least, it should not be too hard."

"I hope not. I have places to be."

"Since when do you ever have places to be, Devereux?"

Axel grinned. "Since when do I not, Saïx?" he asked. "We should go knock out those shadows."

The blue-haired man stared after Axel as he dashed down the street with his weapons held out in front of him. "What am I going to do with you, Axel?" he sighed.

The two of them made their way to the front gates of Hollow Victoria. There was usually a drawbridge set out over the river, but because it was the middle of the night, the bridge had been pulled up to stand vertically as part of the wall. Saïx and Axel flanked the door, pressing close to the wall and watching through the darkness for their targets.

"I see nothing," Axel hissed.

"Calm, Devereux. Calm," Saïx reminded him.

A few minutes passed. Axel became restless and began to pace back and forth in front of the drawbridge. "Maybe it would be in our best interest to search elsewhere?" he suggested finally.

"I do not think that would be wise," Saïx replied. "If the shadows do happen to show up here, they will overrun the area without us here to stop them."

"That may be true," Axel agreed, "but what if we simply have their location wrong and they are overrunning another area unsupervised?"

Saïx sighed. "If you insist, Axel," he muttered, "we shall have to split up. I will stay here, and you may go search the rest of the city at your whim. But if you happen to screw up, do not expect me to let it go easily."

"Yeah, yeah," Axel answered with a grin. He waved a hand in Saïx's direction. "I will come back and retrieve you from your post after I defeat all of those shadows."

Saïx sighed as he watched his coworker disappear into the night.

Axel took off again, dashing down the narrow streets of Hollow Victoria with his weapons locked in his hands. He kept moving until he reached one of the neighborhoods in the center of the city. At the entrance of the area, he slowed down and leaned against the sign. Undeniably, he could hear and feel the presence of shadows.

He cursed under his breath and slipped into the area. The houses around this part of town were closer to mansions than houses in size, sitting on large lots where shadows could take refuge. Axel scanned the area in front of him, but he saw nothing. He continued on.

Leaning against one of the walls that belonged to a house closer to the center, he heard the shadows again, scrambling about in the darkness. He circled the house once but saw nothing. Axel realized what that meant—that the shadows must have taken refuge _inside _the mansion, and that he would have to go in.

His boss had trained him for this work, but he had never actually done it. Still, Axel remembered the steps. He pulled out a tool from his cloak and aimed it at the roof above him. A small chain shot out and latched onto the edge of the roof, and, using it as a rope, he began to scale the wall. About two-thirds of the way to the top, he encountered a window. He summoned one of his weapons and used the spikes to pry the window open. As soon as he had budged it enough, he swung closer to the wall, grabbed the sill for support, and dragged himself inside.

The house that he arrived in was huge. He had come in through the window of a guest room that looked like it had not been lived in for a very long time. The room alone could have been larger than many of the houses in the slums or the apartments in the middle district. The door stood slightly open, and Axel crossed the room and slipped through it, emerging into a long hallway.

He could still feel the presence of the shadows, but the house was dark and he saw no trace of them. He crept down the hallway until he reached the stairs, and he descended those, heading for the left side of the house. The pulsating of the shadows, he could tell, came from a room in that wing.

Once he reached the end of the left-side wing of the house, he came to a stop facing the largest set of doors in the hall. When he closed his eyes, he could feel the energy of the shadows lurking on the other side. Why had he and Saïx even waited for them by the front gate when they had festered in waiting right here? Axel shook his head.

He pushed the door open.

The room behind the door was huge and fully lit by several chandelier-style lights hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a ballroom, with polished floors and meticulously decorated walls. Curtains hung elegantly over a large window on the opposite side.

In the center of the room, shadows writhed, and a figure Axel recognized all too well turned to face him.

Axel tipped his head back and uttered a curse under his breath. "Master Xemnas Arkwright," he addressed the man.

Xemnas turned to face Axel, and a sarcastic smile formed on one side of his mouth, disappearing as soon as it came on. "Axel Devereux," he answered. "'Tis nice to see you."

"Liar," Axel growled.

"Why have you disobeyed orders again?" Xemnas asked, leaving the shadows behind him and taking a few steps toward Axel.

"I did not mean to disobey orders, Sir," Axel muttered. "Bloodworth and I were searching for the shadows at the city gates, but I did not see or sense any trace of them. I finally told him that it might be a better idea to split up."

"You were told never to stray from your missions," Xemnas hissed. "And that is exactly what you have done—not once, not twice, but three times—in the past two weeks."

"Sir, I beg of you. It was an accident. I sensed the shadows here. What are you doing?" Axel added as he glanced down at the writhing shadows that formed a half-circle around the place where Xemnas had stood just moments ago.

"That, Devereux," Xemnas answered, "is none of your business. You had best leave."

"I could not—" Axel began.

The lights went out, cutting him off midsentence. He heard Xemnas cry out, and just before he turned and ran from the ballroom, he saw a huge shadow appear before the man and chains lash around his wrists and ankles.

He dared not return to Saïx. Instead he fled into the city's middle district, vowing to take refuge there until things had cleared up.

* * *

_A/N: So I guess this chapter covers some of Axel's side of the story instead of Roxas's ... Yeah. _

_Muffinmilk317 - Thanks for the review, again :3 About the 19th century stuff ... so you noticed ... Trust me, it's not just you. Also, yeah, theoretically, the "other girl" in the last chapter was Xion, but we haven't seen Xion just yet... ;)_

_Feel free to review with whatever you thought; I would really appreciate your feedback everyone!_

_Anyway, until next time..._


	4. Chapter IV

_IV_

Roxas woke the next morning to the sound of thunder echoing outside his window. He sat up and crossed the room, went to the window, and pushed the curtains open. Rain poured down on the city again, drenching the streets and merging with the river. All of the gas lamps on his street had gone out, leaving the road in near complete darkness.

He sighed and let the curtains fall back over the window. His head pounded again—he decided it was probably the rain. He had felt okay before going to sleep last night, after the storm had died down.

It was going to be another one of those days, he thought as he dressed and headed for the kitchen. But hopefully it wasn't one of those days that ended in him falling down the stairs, hitting his head, and winding up in the academy's infirmary.

As he ate breakfast in their cramped kitchen, watching the tiny window as streams of water poured down it and obscured the view of outside, he thought about his unexpected meeting with Axel Devereux again. There was something familiar about the man's name, but Roxas couldn't think of where exactly he had heard it before. He was so deep in thought that when Sora walked in, just the sound of his chair scraping against the floor made him jump.

"Ah," Roxas exclaimed, dropping his spoon. "I didn't know you were there."

Sora laughed. "Are you sure your head injury has not brainwashed you?"

Roxas grinned good-naturedly and went back to eating his breakfast.

"It sure looks bad out there again today," Sora remarked, trying to see out the undersized kitchen window. "Try not to slip, Rox."

"Don't call me that," Roxas laughed. "And I will be _fine_. It was just some dumb accident yesterday."

"And you are lucky that dumb accident did not crack your head open."

Roxas sighed. "Okay, okay, Sora. I will be careful, just for you."

He and Sora finished their breakfast and prepared to leave for the academy, blowing out the candles in the kitchen and plunging the apartment into darkness. Roxas locked the door on the way down the stairs, his thoughts trailing back to Axel Devereux again.

"Hey, Sora…" he began.

His brother turned back to look at him. "Yeah?"

Roxas bit his lip. "Never mind," he said. For some reason he suddenly did not want to give away the existence of the mysterious redhead. He wanted to keep the meeting all to himself, regardless of how little sense it made.

"Something wrong, Roxas?" Sora asked. "Does your head hurt or something?"

"Oh, be quiet," Roxas laughed.

They stepped out into the streets, into the mist that had had evolved from this morning's downpour. Roxas pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, but still the spray managed to infiltrate his vision. He squinted against it as he walked on.

The two brothers moved into the square, where hundreds of people circulated around them. Some were sitting at the edges of the area where the buildings created a barrier around it, huddled in corners, trying to keep dry. Others sat on the edge of the fountain that penetrated the center, enjoying the rain. Roxas and Sora passed through the torrent of people, walked right past the stalls of shopkeepers shouting sales pitches, ignored the shoulder bumps they got from walking too close to other people. Most of them wore cloaks just like they did, the hoods obscuring their faces.

Roxas squinted through the mist and thought he saw a glimpse of red hair under the hood of one of their cloaks; he blinked and it was gone.

He had little time to wonder why he had begun to see Axel Devereux everywhere after just running into him yesterday—they were already turning out of the square and onto the road that led to the academy's stone front steps. But he did know that there was something undeniably familiar about the man.

"Roxas!"

Roxas realized that he had spaced out completely. His brother stared expectantly back at him.

"Come on, we are going to be late. And you probably shouldn't try to run the rest of the way to the academy," Sora reminded Roxas.

Roxas sighed. Absently, he replied, "Yeah." He glanced over his shoulder one more time, but, seeing nothing but rain and black cloaks, he turned back and followed Sora through the academy's huge wooden doors.

The smell of rain filled the whole entryway of the academy that morning. As Roxas walked through the doors, trying not to let his boots slip on the floors made slick by rainwater, he overheard a few students talking off to his left, deep in conversation.

"Did you just say a _thief_?"

"Yeah, I did. Haven't you been listening to the news? He robbed a house on Center Street last night, apparently."

"God, I hope he doesn't go for my street next."

"You'd _better _hope. I heard he stole ten thousand munny worth of stuff."

"Damn."

Roxas ran a hand through his hair. He followed behind Sora as they moved through the entryway, looking for the rest of their friends. He wondered vaguely if those students had been making things up, or if there really was a thief. It wouldn't be the first time, of course, but the last time they had caught a thief in Hollow Victoria, a riot had practically ensued in the streets. The police had chased the thief down, finally cornering him on one of the side streets and arresting him with a crowd of a thousand people at their heels.

"Did you hear that?" he asked his brother, breaking into a jog to catch up.

"Hear what?" Sora replied. "Hey, there's Kairi and Naminé. Let's go say hi."

Roxas frowned, but followed Sora over to where the two sisters sat. Apparently Sora's girlfriend gave him tunnel vision.

"Sora, have you heard?" Kairi exclaimed. "There's a thief somewhere in Hollow Victoria!"

Roxas sighed. "That's what I was just asking him about. He never pays any attention. Is there really a thief, or is it just a rumor?"

"No, no, 'tis real. They saw him. Some man with silver hair in a cloak." Kairi shrugged. "But someone claims the owner of the house said he was wearing chains."

"Chains? The kind they use on prisoners?" Sora questioned.

"Just the kind. I don't understand how he could steal anything if he had chains on him," she answered.

"And how did he get away if they saw him?" Roxas added.

"I've no clue." Kairi shook her head. "If you really want the evidence, I suppose you'll have to go to the police. Or the town crier."

"The town crier," Sora echoed, grinning. "Definitely, Kairi."

Kairi sighed. "We should get to class."

Classes dragged by. Roxas heard nothing but rumors about the thief's exploits from last night and the sound of the rain on windowpanes. He flew out the door at the end of his last class, hardly bothering to look for Sora, not even watching his step as he sped over the wet pavement. He rounded a corner and slowed to a stop at the back of the school, not entirely sure what had compelled him to run this far.

And then.

"Yo, Roxas," a voice called out. "Careful. You don't wanna trip again, do you?"

Roxas's lips parted, but no sound escaped his mouth. Standing in front of him once again was a man with a strangely slender figure, his legs long but masked by the lower half of his cloak. His hood lay undone over his shoulders, and his hair emerged over his scalp at all sorts of angles.

It was Axel Devereux.

"What are you doing here?" Roxas stammered finally.

"Careful. Don't hurt yourself staring so hard," Axel teased him. "I heard there was a thief around here somewhere." He stuck a hand into the pocket of his cloak and withdrew a cigarette, which he lit and pinched between his lips.

"Not around here," Roxas told him. "Center Street."

"Mmm, close enough," Axel said, leaning against a wall. "Besides, I needed to get away for a while." He took a drag from his cigarette and grinned at Roxas again, letting the smoke curl from his lips.

"So you came over to the academy to smoke."

"Why not?" Axel inhaled again and flicked ashes from his hand. "Ahh."

"Well, if you have not noticed, smoking is looked down upon at academies like this one." Roxas crossed his arms. "Also, 'tis strange that this is the second day in a row I ran into you, don't you think?"

"Maybe just a little," Axel replied. Smoke escaped his lips with the words.

Roxas studied him for a moment. "You meant to come, didn't you," he said after a minute, his eyes searching the man's face.

Axel shrugged. Roxas stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to answer, but he didn't.

"Where are you from? What academy do _you_ attend?" Roxas demanded, taking a step forward. "And why do you want to come here?"

"I no longer attend an academy," Axel said. "I live on the west side of town."

Roxas's eyes widened. "So you are a college student?"

"Well, god_damn_," Axel remarked, flicking ashes from the cigarette again. "You are quite the fast learner, aren't you?"

Roxas shook his head, looking confused. After a minute he stammered, "You really should not be loitering around here, you know."

"I do not care," Axel replied. "Look, I work for an organization that really needs to know where that thief ran off to. I heard he was around here somewhere, and I decided to give it a shot. And take a break, all at the same time."

"Right," Roxas said.

"Would I lie to you?" Axel asked, and then smiled. "Scratch that. Yes, I would. But I promise I would not lie about the thief. I need to know where he went."

Roxas shrugged. "I could not tell you where he went."

"How about this, then," Axel suggested, holding up one index finger and leaning down toward Roxas. "You can help me look for the thief, and I'll… I'll do something for you."

Roxas's eyes narrowed. "Something? Such as what?"

"I do not know yet," Axel replied with an infectious smile. "I will think of something. That I do know."

"Wait," Roxas said. "I must inform my brother of where I am going."

"Oh?" Axel answered, leaning closer. "No, you do not. As of this minute, Roxas Slater, you are kidnapped."

"N-no! What are you—" Roxas began, but Axel interrupted him by putting his arms around Roxas's waist, lifting him up, and tossing him over his shoulder like a small child. "Put me down!" Roxas exclaimed, pulling at the hood of Axel's cloak.

"Roxas, you were warned. What did I tell you? You have been kidnapped," Axel answered, and began walking away from the academy.

* * *

_A/N: Hello again! So, it seems that whatever happened to Xemnas in the last chapter is remaining a mystery. And Axel is up to his usual shenanigans. Trust me, more will be revealed in the next chapter ... Mwa ha ha._

_Also, Muffinmilk317: Thanks for your consistent reviews XD they are much appreciated. Good to know someone's paying attention, lol.  
_

_If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Please don't hesitate to review! I don't mind concrit, if you're willing to contribute some.  
_


	5. Chapter V

_V_

Axel carried Roxas across the street, to the place where the center of town began to fade into the west area of town. Roxas lived on the east side, and he was unfamiliar with the buildings that cluttered the west.

"If you carry me like this, people will think you are a kidnapper," Roxas accused.

"I am a kidnapper, have you forgotten? At least for the time being." Axel continued walking, refusing to let his charge go.

"A criminal, then," Roxas amended.

"Do you see where we are?" Axel asked, sweeping his free hand toward the horizon. "I have seen stranger things out here."

Roxas tensed. "I just would rather my brother not see me," he muttered.

"Does your brother live on the west side of town?" Axel asked. He had started walking again, darting around a corner and heading deeper into the area. Though the north and east parts of town were relatively well-off, even wealthy in some places, the other half, the west and south parts, were quite the opposite. The south tended toward the slum side, while the west struggled to rise above it, hardly successful because the south constantly dragged it down.

"No," Roxas admitted.

"Well, if he is not here, how do you expect him to see you?" Axel asked. "Come now, Roxas."

Roxas fell silent and stared over Axel's shoulder at the city surrounding them. They passed old, run-down apartments with broken, rusty windows; they passed provisional shops set up by the side of the road; they passed people wearing old cloaks with strange symbols and knife sheaths and other sorts of weapons Roxas had never seen before. He could see now why Axel had chosen to carry him here: in part because the action would not be seen as strange in this area, and in part because it marked Roxas as his charge, and not the business of any of these other strangers.

"Where are the police?" Roxas asked. "Should they not arrest these people for carrying weapons in the open?"

Axel snorted. "The police do not bother coming around here. Look at it." He swept his free hand through the air again. "This place is one step away from sinking to the same level as the south side of town."

Roxas shuddered. The south side of town was often described as a slaughterhouse, full of criminals and delinquents and murderers, and to walk into that area from the north or east was equivalent to putting a target on one's back and standing with raised hands in the square. Incidents revolving around citizens from the richer parts of Hollow Victoria were not common, but intense when they did take place. For instance, the thief whom the entire town had chased down years ago.

"Where are we going?" Roxas asked.

"Shhh," Axel replied. "Stop asking so many questions. You will figure it out in a moment."

He turned the corner at the end of the long street and entered a maze of buildings. Here the streets were narrower, and people flanked the walls on either side, brushing past each other and making the streets feel even more crowded. Once, a vehicle breezed by, nearly knocking over several pedestrians. Another time, a fight broke out near a shop stall right next to them.

"Axel," Roxas said.

"Calm down, it's all gonna be fine," Axel reassured him. "Trust me, I have been through here thousands of times."

The clamor on the streets began to subside as they moved further and further into the maze. In fact, Roxas noticed, as they passed a large, strangely-shaped building, the noise disappeared altogether. The air around them fell completely silent. He could see no one else around.

He could get a closer look at the building from over Axel's shoulder. The outside walls had been painted white, and a strange cross symbol stood out against those walls. The building's base began as a square, but sprouted some architecturally strange appendages on the upper levels.

"What is th—?"

"Quiet," Axel hissed, clapping his hand over Roxas's mouth. He checked over his shoulder and began to increase to a run, not even bothering to stop to round the next corner.

When he ducked around the corner, though, he came to an abrupt stop, very nearly dropping Roxas. He stumbled back a few steps, caught his balance, and snapped, "Bloodworth!"

"What—?" Roxas began again, but Axel's grip tightened around his midsection, and he stopped without finishing the question.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Axel demanded.

"Kill you?" a man's voice said. It sounded several steps deeper than Axel's, and serious. Much more serious than Axel, anyway, Roxas thought. "You are the one walking too quickly around a corner without watching where you are going. What did I tell you just last night? Someday you are going to die trying to make your errands 'enjoyable'."

"Excuse me?" Axel shot back. "How about we don't _talk _about what happened last night? Master Xemnas—"

"How about," the other man's voice repeated, "you take your own advice and don't talk about what happened?"

"How about you put me down?" Roxas demanded, this time not giving Axel a chance to hush him.

Silence fell over the three of them for a minute. The unknown man spoke first. "And who might that be, Devereux?" His voice sounded mocking.

"Part of my mission," Axel replied smoothly.

"You have no mission. I know about all of today's work assignments," the other voice snapped.

"Oh?" Axel replied. "No one said it was a work assignment."

"So you are on a mission that has nothing to do with work?" the second voice snapped.

"Come on, Saïx, cut the kid some slack," Axel complained, pulling Roxas tighter against his shoulder. "He's not from around here."

"Is that so?" the second voice—apparently belonging to a man by the name of Saïx—asked.

Roxas squirmed in Axel's grip. "I said put me down."

"Well," Saïx said, clapping his hands together as though clearing them of dirt, "I do not wish to take part in your non-work-related fetishes, Axel, so you'd best make yourself scarce before I inform our Master."

Roxas couldn't see very well over Axel's shoulder, but he was fairly sure Axel made an obscene gesture in Saïx's direction rather than saying anything else.

He beat the redhead's shoulder blades with his fists. "_Non-work-related fetishes_?" he demanded. "Axel, what is going on?"

"Sorry, Rox. Bloodworth comes off a little rough to people he's never met before," Axel commented. "Well, and people he knows, too. I guess he's just disagreeable in general. Anyway, I didn't think we'd have to run into him. Sorry."

"Don't call me that," Roxas said, but he felt his resolve ebbing away even as he said it. "And can you please put me down?"

Axel sighed. "And here I thought… Anyway, if you don't move fast enough, your feet won't be on the ground long, got it?"

The two of them started off at a run, Roxas struggling to keep up behind Axel. They only made it a few blocks, however, before Axel stopped. He swiveled around and pointed to the strange building hiding between alleyways. "That," he said, "is where I work."

"Where you work," Roxas repeated. "And what do you do?"

"Hunt," Axel answered.

"Hunt? As in animals?" Roxas asked.

"You could say that," the redhead replied vaguely.

Roxas thought for a moment. He remembered Axel standing in front of the academy, saying, _I work for an organization that really needs to know where that thief ran off to. _Remembered how he and the other man, Bloodworth, wore matching black cloaks.

"You are… an assassin?" Roxas guessed. The words made him feel ill.

Axel grinned. "You could say that," he said again. "Now, remember why you came here? To help me look for the thief, right?"

"Yes," Roxas said and swallowed hard.

"Outstanding. And do you know what our other mission is?" he prompted.

Roxas stared at him. "What?" he finally asked.

"If you see Bloodworth, run in the other direction. Do not let him see you," Axel informed him. "Bloodworth is trouble. Got it memorized?"

Roxas nodded. He wondered why he had ever agreed to this. Who in their right mind would ditch his brother and wander around town with a man who claimed he may or may not be an assassin, looking for a thief who had appeared in the middle of the night? The idea sickened him.

"Axel," he said as the red-haired man turned and began to walk away.

Axel stopped walking and swiveled to look at Roxas. "What is it?" he asked.

Roxas sighed. "I should not do this," he said. "I should not be here."

The red-haired man rolled his eyes. "Aw, come on now. Don't be such a child, Roxas," he said. "I promise I will return you to your brother before your bedtime."

Roxas glared back at him. "Fine," he shot back, crossing his arms. Sora was probably asking Kairi about their homework right this minute; he almost doubted they missed him for a moment. He wondered if they had asked about him on their walk home from the academy, if Sora had, perhaps, asked the others where Roxas had run off to so abruptly after class let out. Maybe they had not. Maybe they had left his absence alone and talked amongst themselves about other things.

And what about the invitation Sora and Kairi had extended to him for dinner? What about Naminé? What if they had decided to go out tonight, and had been forced to leave him behind? Worse, what if they had decided his lack of attendance was cause for alarm, and called the police? Roxas shook his head. He couldn't bear to think about it anymore.

"All right, have you cleared your conscience, or do you want me to help?" Axel asked, a teasing smirk flitting across his face.

Roxas stomped his foot. "That is it. I will come and help you find the thief!" he exclaimed.

"I knew you'd say yes," Axel replied, and it irritated Roxas just how much the man seemed to be able to predict—or rather, manipulate—about him. "Come on, this way."

He rounded a corner and, when Roxas looked up, he saw the redhead climbing a metal ladder that led up the side of a building. He guessed that the brick structure had to be at least five stories high, and the roof was slanted. Axel climbed a few more steps before glancing down at Roxas, whose feet still stayed on the ground, and calling out, "Are you quite done standing there? We have places to see, you know."

Roxas swallowed, remembering his painful fall from the steps in front of the academy. "No, that's fine, I will let you do it. I will come with you in a moment."

Axel grinned. "Oh, no, Roxas. This is the only mode of transportation I have ever used. Running across roofs, you know? You will grow to love it, come on."

He jumped down and grabbed Roxas's hand, ignoring the younger boy's protests.

* * *

_A/N: Waaahhhh. It's been a tough week. Muffinmilk317, your review might have been the single highlight, haha. In any case, readers everywhere, I hope this story is entertaining you in some way. :)  
_

_I kind of felt like I was writing an episode for a TV show this time around. Weird... Maybe I've been watching too much TV._

_Anyway, until next time everyone. :3  
_


	6. Chapter VI

_VI_

The tiles of the roof felt slippery under Roxas's feet, and he tried not to look down for fear of falling. He had a tight grip on Axel's hand. It was a miracle the redhead hadn't told him he was cutting off his circulation yet.

"I should go home," Roxas muttered under his breath, risking a glance down at the streets below. Panic shot through him at the thought of a fall that long. His fall from the few steps of the academy had landed him in the infirmary and given him a headache he wasn't going to forget anytime soon; he didn't want to know what a fall from a three-story building would do to him.

"Did you say something?" Axel teased him, pausing and turning back to look at Roxas.

"I did not say anything, Axel," Roxas replied. "Please, keep going. Get us out of here."

A small smirk teased Axel's lips, but he turned around before Roxas could really see it. "All right," he said to the sky, "well, you know, getting out of here requires moving a little faster, if you know what I mean."

Roxas paled. "No," he said. "I am not going to run on a slanted piece of architecture three stories up—"

"No one said you had to do any running, Roxas," Axel reassured him. "All you have to do is sit there."

"Here?" Roxas said, pointing to the spot where he currently stood.

"No," Axel countered. He pulled Roxas toward him, swept him off the ground, and started to lift him over his shoulder again. "Here."

"No!" Roxas said again. "Put me down! I am not doing this again!"

"If you say so," Axel answered, lowering Roxas back down onto his feet. "But you have to promise you'll at least try."

Roxas sucked in a breath. "Fine," he answered.

"Give me your hand," Axel said, extending his hand toward Roxas. Roxas took it, but this time he felt strange doing so. He tried to ignore the feeling.

And the fear that shot through him at the thought of trying to run.

"Are you sure you do not have an irrational fear of heights?" Axel asked, glancing back at the blond boy.

"I don't know!" Roxas stammered. "I think I just have a fear of falling and dying!"

Axel burst out laughing. "Right. We'll walk first."

They moved across the roofs ahead of them, slowly at first, picking up speed as they went. Axel's feet moved deftly across the surfaces of the roofs, finding their way easily. Roxas soon fell into step, setting foot where Axel did, and he began to move more quickly, the road underneath him becoming a blur of stone and the occasional pedestrian. He began to breathe easier.

Not until Axel stopped running did Roxas realize that their hands were still joined. His gaze flicked from the scenery surrounding the buildings to their fingers intertwined between them, and he quickly pulled away. "Sorry," he muttered.

"About what?" Axel asked, putting one hand on his hip. "You did it, Roxas. You made it across the roofs without dying. And you didn't break my hand."

Roxas flushed. "I guess so," he said.

"So," the redhead suggested, "why don't you take a look around? See where we are?"

Slowly, Roxas lifted his head and looked around. Somehow they had ascended to a much higher elevation than when they had started, and the only building that stood above them was Hollow Victoria's harbinger of a clock tower, its pointed tower rising upward into the fog like a stake, announcing the city's existence. They could see almost everything from here, including the weird-looking building Axel had pointed out earlier.

"H-how many stories up are we?" Roxas stammered. He resisted the urge to latch onto Axel, to anchor himself in case he slipped. He could do this, he reminded himself. He had to get back home and make sure Sora knew he was okay.

"Probably about ten," Axel responded nonchalantly. "Maybe more."

Roxas felt the color draining from his face. "You are kidding, right?"

"Why would I be? Look at this—" Axel stopped and looked at Roxas. He sighed. "Hey, it's all right, Roxas. I would not let you fall to your death, I promise."

"P-promise?" Roxas stammered.

"Yes, I promise," Axel repeated. "Wow. I must admit, I have never seen anyone this nervous up here."

Through his fear, Roxas felt a stab of jealousy. He tried to push it away; he knew he was only being irrational because he was afraid of falling. But he couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth: "Do you take a lot of people with you to run on roofs?"

Axel shot him a sideways glance. "What? No." He turned away from the edge of the roof to face Roxas completely. "The other people I work with have been up here a few times. Like Saïx. But he just gets annoyed when I come up here; he thinks I am going to—"

"Going to what?" Roxas asked when Axel didn't continue.

"Oh, 'tis nothing," Axel replied, waving his hand in the air and forcing a laugh. "You know Saïx."

Roxas swallowed and scanned their surroundings again. "So can you see the thief from here?" he asked, rubbing his palms together.

"Hmm…" Axel leaned forward a little and shaded his eyes with his hand. "There is someone in a black cloak. Oh, no, that is definitely not him… Roxas, why don't you help me look?" he added. "All you have to do is look around a little. You do not even have to move. And remember our deal?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Give me a minute."

He thought back to the morning at the academy, when Kairi had told him all about the thief. _Some man with silver hair in a cloak,_ she had said. He stared hard at the streets laid out in front of them, but he saw no trace of anyone with silver hair.

"Wait." The sound of Axel's voice caused Roxas to look up from their view of the city. "Can we move, Roxas? Just once, please?"

Roxas almost said no, but he looked once at the pleading expression on Axel's face, and he sighed. "Fine."

"Good," Axel said. He began to move forward along the roof on which they currently stood, inching closer to the clock tower. Once he reached the clock tower's outer wall, he turned so that he stood with his back to it, found a foothold, and began to skirt the edge, moving step by step. He then jumped to the next roof.

Roxas stood frozen by the wall of the clock tower, wondering how he would ever make it around the corner. Carefully, without any cue from Axel, he managed to step backward and balance on the ledge. He flattened himself against the wall, keeping his hands pressed against the stone, and moved to the side a step. To his surprise, he didn't wobble. He continued on, leaving the safety net of the lower roofs behind, so that when he looked down, he saw only the street more than ten stories below. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt his way around the corner, grabbing hold of a windowsill to keep himself anchored.

He continued using windows at his handholds until he came to the place where the next roof stood waiting. Axel balanced there, holding out his hand for Roxas to take again. Roxas reached out, and Axel pulled him to the safety of the next roof. Or, at least, as safe as they could get ten stories off the ground.

"You made it, huh, Roxas," Axel commented. "You know, you are pretty brave for a guy who looked like he was going to melt at the sight of the ground earlier."

"Thanks," Roxas said. "I think."

"Well, in that case," Axel said, "we must move. I think he is still there." He began to run ahead on the roof, crouching down and picking up his pace. "Follow me!" he said over his shoulder.

Roxas followed. He lagged behind from his lack of experience with rooftop running, but he managed to keep up enough to see where Axel was going. He finally stopped and crouched down on a flat roof that overlooked a small, grassy courtyard. There, a figure in a black cloak stood at the edge of a fountain, staring into the water.

"Axel," Roxas whispered, but the red-haired man shook his head quickly at him, and he closed his mouth.

He looked more carefully at the figure in the black cloak. The man didn't wear chains on his hands or appear to have silver hair, like Kairi had said. And he didn't look like he was stealing anything. But he did stand there suspiciously, staring at the fountain.

After a few moments, the man turned around and walked into a building. He turned around so that he faced Axel for a second before he disappeared.

Axel rose up to his full height and walked back over to where Roxas sat. "Did you see that?" he asked.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Roxas told him. "Was that the thief?"

Axel shook his head. "I do not think so. He did not look like the man I am trying to find," he admitted. "We should look elsewhere."

"Wait," Roxas said. "A… a friend of mine told me about the rumors of the thief, and she said that he had silver hair and wore chains, like a slave. That man was not wearing chains… But is it true? Does he wear chains?"

Axel sucked in a breath. "Not… not usually," he began.

Roxas tipped his head to one side. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"Well," Axel began, "usually he does not wear chains, but just a few nights ago, I saw him…"

"Wait," Roxas said, panic beginning to build in his chest, "you saw the thief? More than once? What does that mean? Are you a thief, too?"

"It means—it means, well—" Axel stammered.

At that moment, a crash split the air behind them, and they turned to see that the door on the other side of the roof had been shoved open, revealing a man standing in the doorway. He wore a black cloak, the same as the man they had seen standing in the courtyard below them, but his hood was pulled back from his face, revealing that he _did_ have silver hair. His face looked dark and his amber eyes seemed to glow in the scarce light.

"Well, Axel?" he said in a deep, reverberating voice. "Answer the boy, why don't you? Are you a thief?"

"You are—you are an assassin, and a thief," Roxas stammered, rising to his feet and backing up several steps.

"Sounds to me like he is on to something," the silver-haired man said, crossing his arms over his chest. "But, Axel, tell me. Were you really planning on revealing your secrets to him? You do know that would be in direct defiance of my orders, do you not?"

Axel shook his head hastily. "No," he said. "No, I—"

He caught a glimpse of Roxas's stunned face on his other side, and he stopped midsentence. "Damn it…"

"So," the silver-haired man continued, a triumphant smile spreading across his face, "have I been downgraded to the lowly rank of thief, or are you going to greet me properly?"

"No, sir," Axel said, bending down and lowering his head before the cloaked man. "Master Xemnas Arkwright. Welcome back."

* * *

_A/N: I have returned. I forgot to post last week. Wow. I'm sorry. And I was really looking forward to it too. Sigh. Anyway, Muffinmilk317, you are welcome. :) Also, thank you MyHamstersHateMe for the favorite!_

_Argh, I really hope I can keep updating this story, because I just got back to school. Time is precious. Anyway, later guys. Review if you feel like it!_


	7. Chapter VII

_VII_

Roxas couldn't quite hold in his gasp. The second it escaped his mouth, Xemnas's eyes flickered over to him. Those orange irises burned into his. He couldn't hold the man's gaze.

"I do not suppose you have told him of my true identity," Xemnas said, this time to Axel.

Roxas raised his eyes to see Axel still kneeling before Xemnas. The redhead's bravado had all but evaporated, and Roxas couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for him. "No, sir. He thinks you are a thief, like the rest of Hollow Victoria."

"A thief? So that is what they think?" Xemnas answered. "Peasants. They know so little. And you," he added, looking at Axel. "You will be punished for the damage you may have done. As will your little… _hostage_."

Roxas felt the blood drain from his face. His hands and feet felt cold, and his breaths came shallow. Axel spoke before he could, his eyes snapping up to meet Xemnas's again. "You cannot," he exclaimed. "I will not allow you to hurt Roxas."

"Roxas," Xemnas said. "Is that his name? What a fascinating name." His thin lips spread into a smile. "I dare say that knowing someone else's name gives you a great power over them."

Roxas shrank back. In front of him, Axel clenched his hands into fists, looking like he wanted to rise from his crouch and take a swing at the man. "Master Xemnas—"

"Do you mean to tell me that you will protect him if I make a move?" Xemnas snapped, his smile vanishing. "Axel, you know very well that you are not to care for anyone outside of the Organization. These are my orders. You swore on your very soul not to defy them. You know what happens if you break that oath."

"Y-yes," Axel stammered, lowering his eyes once again to the ground. "I know."

"On that note, I ask that you now accompany me and this… _deviant_ back to the headquarters." Xemnas spun around and faced the door that led away from the roof. "Do not defy my authority again, Axel."

"Yes," Axel answered. "Yes, sir. I am sorry."

Roxas paled again. "I should not go back with you. I must return home. I must get back to my brother and let him know I am okay, and—"

Xemnas cast a look at him. "You will come with us," he told Roxas. "If you do not, I promise you that you will regret it." He turned and disappeared from the roof.

Axel rose from his kneeling position. "We should follow him," he said, not even daring to risk a glance back at Roxas.

"If you are no thieves," Roxas said quietly as he began to walk away, "then what are you?"

The redhead looked back at him sadly. "I am sorry, Roxas," he said simply and stepped through the door. Roxas had no choice but to follow.

The door led to a dark, cramped stairway which sprang from a lower building made mostly of uncovered stone walls. No person dared walk the premises of that lower building; no person dared accost the three of them as they made their way through the main floor and exited into the courtyard. They entered another alley, which felt even more cramped and dark than the stairway, and soon faced the strange building with the cross symbol again. Xemnas opened the door, which stood on one side of the building, lying concealed in the white paint. He led them inside, to the entryway.

Saïx stood just beyond the door, his hood pulled back and his blue hair hanging loosely over his shoulders. Xemnas walked right past him, but Axel stopped to glare at the man.

"You told him, did you not, Bloodworth?" Axel said.

"You informed me that you had a mission outside of Master Arkwright's orders, Devereux. I had no choice," Saïx answered, shrugging.

"Bastard," Axel spat. He only got that one word free before Xemnas turned around and grabbed him by the arm. The silver-haired man kept the redhead in his iron grip even as he spun on Roxas, dragging them both off toward another door.

Every room in the headquarters was white, including the cells lining the hallway they entered. Roxas felt blinded. He had thought jails were supposed to be dark.

He hardly had time to blink before Xemnas opened one of the cell doors and threw him inside. He lost his balance, hitting the ground on his backside and nearly cracking his head on the wall behind him. Xemnas slammed the door behind him, not even allowing Roxas a second glance.

But even inside the cell, Roxas had a clear view of what was happening on the other side of the door. The door was made of bars, spaced apart enough to allow him a window to the hallway. He watched Xemnas and Axel on the other side and wished he couldn't see them at all.

"You have committed yet another offense against my rules," Xemnas informed Axel, holding him by the hood of his cloak. "Your constant disregard of the Organization's code of conduct calls for first-offense sanctions."

"No," Axel said. "You cannot mean—"

"Silence!" Xemnas snapped. He released the redhead, shoving him forward with a harsh snap of his wrist. "Remove your cloak."

"Master Arkwright—"

"Now."

"Not in front of Roxas—"

"That pitiful creature deserves to see this. Remove your cloak, Axel. Do not make me ask you again."

With shaking hands, Axel unzipped his cloak and let it fall away from his shoulders. He stood in front of Xemnas wearing only his black pants and boots, his full back in plain view from where Roxas sat.

His back was outlined by the curve and dip of muscle, of the ridge of his spine, but also by what looked like a burn scar that made dark, menacing shapes in his skin. They began in a cross and extended downward into something that looked like a fish tail, or a heart—the same strange symbol that Roxas had seen on the building's exterior. What were they, a cult? Roxas blinked as though he thought that would make the image go away.

Xemnas had walked to the edge of the room and back and now held a weapon in his right hand, the dark shadow of a whip. He gave no warning to Axel, nor did he hesitate as he raised it in the air and brought it down hard on the redhead's exposed back. The resulting crack echoed in the air. Roxas closed his eyes.

The lashes continued, crack after crack resounding in the hallway. Roxas listened to Axel's cries of pain grow more and more submissive until eventually they disappeared completely. Roxas's chest felt tight, as though someone had tied a rope around it and pulled. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and tried to breathe.

Instead, the pain in his head returned for a moment, just before that pain was replaced by a lightness that gave way to unconsciousness.

* * *

_"Roxas… Wake up. Roxas!"_

He woke to Axel's voice in his ear and a hand shaking his shoulder. As soon as he blinked his eyes open, he saw Axel's silhouette slump against the wall, wincing when his back touched the white brick. "God. I thought I had lost you for a minute there."

Roxas blinked again, trying to make his eyes adjust to the darkness. He could just barely see the outline of Axel's face, the white of his eyes, the shadows of his lips.

"Are you all right?" Axel asked.

Roxas frowned. "I should ask the same of you."

"Me? Why?" Axel asked innocently.

"Your… your back…" Roxas murmured. "What happened to it?"

"That is the sanctioned punishment for defying Master Arkwright's orders once," Axel answered him, straight-faced.

Roxas shook his head. He didn't want to know what the punishment would escalate to for multiple offenses. "Yes, but… What about before that? I mean, the symbol that was already there."

"Oh, the symbol of the Nobodies." Axel shrugged, thereafter grimacing at the pain the motion caused him. "That is the symbol each member of the Organization must have branded on their bodies."

"But who are the Nobodies, and what is the Organization?" Roxas sighed.

"The Nobodies are… assassins," Axel said. "Like I told you. The Organization is the group we belong to, led by Master Xemnas."

"Why are you telling me that?" Roxas asked. "Won't… Won't Master Arkwright lash you again?"

"Not if he fails to catch me. Roxas, I cannot let you stay in this cell. I am getting you out." Axel rose to his feet and opened the cell door. "Come."

Almost reluctantly, Roxas stood, following him out into the hallway. Silently the two of them made their way back through the entrance. Axel accompanied Roxas as far as the edge of the east part of town where he lived, and there he stopped.

Roxas continued walking for a few steps, but as soon as he realized Axel no longer followed, he turned and faced him.

"Must you return to your Organization?" Roxas asked.

"Yes." Axel nodded. He bit his lip, looked down at his boots, and took a few steps forward. "Roxas, I truly am sorry for getting you into this. If you no longer want me near you I understand—"

"No," Roxas interrupted. The silence seemed to wait for his explanation. He amended, "I did not mind this afternoon."

The barest hint of a smirk twitched on the redhead's lips. "Does that mean you want me to come back for you, then?"

"I… I will not object to your return," Roxas said carefully.

"I will keep that in mind," Axel told him. "Goodbye, Roxas Slater."

"Goodbye."

Roxas watched him disappear until he was no more than a shadow in the distance, but Axel never once turned around to meet his eyes.

* * *

Roxas returned home at a late hour. He heard Hollow Victoria's clock chime eleven as he ran up the steps to his family's apartment, and his breath caught in his throat. He had not come home after school with Sora, which meant he had been absent for several hours. He hoped he had not caused too much chaos.

As he eased open the door to his bedroom, he heard a voice behind him. "Roxas?" it exclaimed in a half-whisper.

Roxas turned and saw Sora standing in the darkness of the kitchen, his eyes wide and his mouth open. He put his hands up as if in surrender. "Here I am," he said.

"Roxas, where have you been? You did not even return home after school!" Sora exclaimed.

"I, um… took a detour," Roxas answered.

"A detour? But Roxas…" Sora stammered. "You were gone for hours."

"I know," Roxas said. He looked down at his feet. "Were our parents worried?"

"They did not return home until very late, same as you," Sora explained. "I told them you had already gone to your room."

Roxas sighed. "I suppose I owe you, Sora," he admitted.

"Most definitely. Now," his brother continued, "you should probably go to bed."

"Yes," Roxas sighed again, "I agree."

"Good night, then."

Sora walked ahead of Roxas into the hallway that led to their rooms. Roxas followed, but as soon as he did so, he remembered the blinding light of the hallway where Master Xemnas Arkwright had punished his red-haired acquaintance. He stopped dead in the middle of the hallway and squeezed his eyes shut, but all that did was bring back the image of Xemnas standing over Axel with the whip in his hand. He walked on into his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

As soon as he was alone, he threw himself onto his bed. He wanted equally to remember and to forget the events of this afternoon. He could recall Axel's arms encircling his waist as he threw him over his shoulder; his voice saying, "As of this moment, you are kidnapped." But at the same time he remembered the lies of omission, the glossed-over reports of Axel's occupation and his association with the thieves. He wanted to forgive the redhead, but some part of him still felt just the slightest bit hurt.

But, after all, he had told Axel he would not object if Axel returned to him.

And he had not forgotten what Axel had told him when he had dragged him along on their detour in the first place.

He decided to sleep on it and see what happened in the morning.

* * *

_A/N: Oh wow. I feel like a total idiot. I've been neglecting this story for the past, what... month? Eh. I'm sorry... OTL_

_Anyway... I feel the need to say that even though I was AWOL, there are still people out there reading, so thanks to everybody who followed/favorited while I was gone._

_Also, thank you as usual for any and all reviews! I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner. :D_


End file.
